Chicken Pozolé Verde

I was raised in an Italian family. I grew up in Los Angeles, where there is a huge Latin influence. Taco stands and trucks were fixtures in the San Fernando Valley. At least once a week, we would pick up dinner from our favorite taco stand. Fast forward to 2009 when I met the man who would quickly become my husband. Miguel is from New Mexico, but his dad's side is from Mexico. For our first Christmas together, he took me home to New Mexico to meet his family. I about died when I tried New Mexican food. It was SO HOT. I like spice, but this was insane. I've trained my taste buds to handle the heat- yes it is possible! I have done my best to learn to cook traditional New Mexican food like he grew up with. If you have never been to New Mexico and have never had New Mexican food, a lot of people assume its like Tex-Mex. I'm here to tell you- its not- not even close. 

The thing I have learned about Mexican food over the past few years is that the food is very different according to the region you are in. In California, sauces are primarily tomato based, containing jalapeno and serrano peppers for heat and lots of fresh ingredients such as cilantro and onion. Tacos are street tacos- NOT Taco Bell hard-shelled tacos with ground meat. They are made with a simple soft corn tortilla, warmed on the grill or steamed, the meat of your choice, carne asada (steak), chicken, Pastor (marinated pork), carnitas (shredded pork), etc, with cilantro, onions and some salsa. That's it. No lettuce. No tomatoes. No cheese. Just 4 ingredients- you can't get more simple than that.

Street tacos

 In New Mexico, everything is chile based. Hatch, NM is known for Hatch chile. It comes in green, where the chiles are fire roasted in huge batches and can vary from mild to hotter than hot, or red, which is dried and ground from the pods and gives off a smoky heat. The enchiladas are often served pancake style in a layered fashion instead of rolled, made with a chile based sauce and are usually pretty spicy. Many restaurants will serve their enchiladas with a fried egg on top. This is how my husband likes his enchiladas.

Roasted Hatch green chiles.

Delicious red enchiladas from our favorite restaurant in NM called La Posta. 

Here in Ohio, we are pretty far from the boarder, and it shows big time. Most Mexican food is reminiscent of Taco Bell. Lots of ground beef, and cheese. Good God... the cheese. Artery coating, cholesterol raising, white cheese "product". They serve everything drowning in a queso sauce that I have yet to understand. However, I do get the regional relationship here. The dairy farms are a dime a dozen in the Midwest. Ground beef is cheap. I just can't stand behind it when I grew up in SoCal. I miss the freshness that everything encompassed. I miss Californian and New Mexican cooking. If I want it, I have to make it myself. I will have to start ordering everything online and having it shipped to me, as it is impossible to get here in Northeastern Ohio. We do have two Mexican markets in Cleveland that are decent- not amazing- but very basic at best. I was sure spoiled in California.

This is what Ohio calls "Mexican" food. I think thats some sort of burrito under all that queso and the red stuff that resembles the blood of ten thousand Mexican grandmothers who would give their last breath to slap the shit out of these people. 

My mom used to buy hominy in the can and heat it up with a little butter. I love how it tasted like popcorn. I honestly had no idea what to do with it other than that. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I tried pozolé for the first time at a work pot luck. A coworker brought in some pozolé she had made in a crock pot. It was the red version, which is delicious. I had no idea there were different versions. But just like Christmas enchiladas, there are two types of pozolé. Pozolé is frequently served as a celebratory dish throughout Mexico. If you ask me, I think we should always celebrate with soup! I can eat soup in 100° weather and 365 days a year. Pozolé is traditionally a thicker stew consistency, but this version is more of a soup. This recipe came from my friend, Julianna, as sort of a "cheater" version, and I have made it ever since. It combines a store-bought rotisserie chicken, tomatillos, canned hominy and more delicious fresh ingredients. I absolutely love how simple and quick this goes together. I usually make a double batch so I can eat it for a few days. It also freezes rather well.

Hominy and tomatillos in their husks

Chicken Pozolé Verde

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of green onions (scallions)

1 bunch of cilantro

1-3 jalapeños (optional)

Juice of 1 lime, plus more lime wedges for serving

4 cloves of garlic

6 large tomatillos (husks removed and roughly chopped)

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and chopped

1 large can of hominy

Sliced Radishes, avocado and cilantro for serving

8-10 cups Low sodium Chicken broth

2 tbsp of Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, purée the cilantro, scallions, garlic, tomatillos and jalapeños. In a large stock pot, add oil and purée and sautée over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture turns dark green. About 5 minutes. When the mixture is cooked, add drained hominy, chicken and broth. Add lime juice and salt and pepper. And bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15-20minutes. Serve with sliced radishes, avocado, cilantro and lime wedges.

Serve with diced avocado, sliced radishes, cilantro leaves and lime wedges.